Gerasimov arrived in Baku ahead of the April 19 meeting that was also expected to discuss NATO and Russian military activity in Europe.

The two discussed issues related to NATO's and Russia's military activities in Europe, confidence-building measures and incident prevention, the ministry was quoted as saying.

The meeting was the first between Gerasimov and Scaparrotti since
2013.

The ministry said that while in Baku, Gerasimov was also received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"Ilham Aliyev and Valery Gerasimov exchanged opinions on military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia and on prospects of further cooperation," a statement from the Azerbaijani presidency said.